The former Tottenham hitman ghosted in and round Hennessey in one touch, before passing into the empty net.

Hennessey had little choice but to leave his area in a bid to cover Dann's misread, but only succeeded in allowing Defoe to tee up his tap-in.

Palace continued to press even through five minutes' added time, but to no avail, with Cabaye curling a free-kick wide to close out a frustrating night for the hosts.

TWEET OF THE MATCH

Gary Lineker @GaryLineker

Well that was a giant cock-up but decent strikers always expect such errors. Defoe did exactly that.

https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/668906833659064320

PLAYER RATINGS

CRYSTAL PALACE

Wayne Hennessey 4

Joel Ward 5

Scott Dann 4

Pape Souare 5

Damien Delaney 6

Yohan Cabaye 6

James McArthur 5

Yannick Bolasie 5

Wilfried Zaha 5

Jason Puncheon 4

Connor Wickham 4

Substitutes:

Bakary Sako 5

Patrick Bamford 5

Marouane Chamakh 5

SUNDERLAND

Costel Pantilimon 6

Younes Kaboul 6

Sebastien Coates 5

John O'Shea 6

Billy Jones 6

Patrick van Aanholt 6

Lee Cattermole 6

Yann M'Vila 5

Sebastian Larsson 5

Jermain Defoe 7

Steven Fletcher 4

Substitutes:

Jeremain Lens 6

Duncan Watmore 7

Danny Graham 6

MAN OF THE MATCH

Jermain Defoe: A woeful night for both sides lit up only by Defoe's opportunist finish that settled the contest.

VIEW FROM THE BENCH

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce caught everyone by surprise with his 3-5-2 formation, but his side were unable to profit despite several good incisions in the first period. Alan Pardew kept Palace's changes to a minimum but hauled off the ineffective Jason Puncheon at half-time, but Bakary Sako could not fare any better. Pardew finally threw two strikers into the mix just past the hour but Palace remained toothless and paid the price.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Defoe ghosted in between Wayne Hennessey and Scott Dann to poke into space and then tap into the empty net. On a night severely lacking in quality, this moment of natural instinct deserved to seal the deal.

MOAN OF THE MATCH

Only referee Martin Atkinson will know why Jermain Defoe was booked for kicking the ball back towards Scott Dann ahead of a free-kick. Dann attempted to steal a few yards on the halfway line, Defoe took exception and nudged the ball backwards, and was duly booked. A fastidious, pointless decision.

WHO'S UP NEXT

Crystal Palace v Newcastle (Premier League, Saturday, November 28)

Sunderland v Stoke (Premier League, Saturday, November 28)

Sunderland boss Allardyce hailed his side's defensive work after their first away win of the campaign.

He told Sky Sports 1: "Keeping the crowd quiet is very difficult because (Crystal Palace) have a lot of players that get in wide areas and get the ball in the box, but we dealt with it extremely well with five at the back.

"We frustrated the crowd, we frustrated Crystal Palace and we came out with a fantastic three points and a great victory for us.

"In away terms we had to frustrate the opposition, people might say we parked the bus.

"In this moment in time we're trying to build our confidence and the only way to do that is to get points on the board and win football matches."

Goalscorer Defoe added: "The lads worked hard, especially during the international week. It's paid off.

"(The goal) happened so quick. The manager said to keep making runs in behind and I did that. People say if you work hard you get rewarded and I think that happened."

The only downside for Sunderland was Defoe limping off with an injury late on.

The former Tottenham striker added: "The only positive is I can put weight on it. I just hope it's not a ligament."

Palace boss Pardew bemoaned his side's inability to break down the visitors.

He said: "We should have been a bit more clinical in the final third. We just couldn't find a way to unlock what was a deep defence and a deep midfield.

"Sunderland set their stall out, there was no mystery to what they did. Five at the back, three in front, didn't really move much. Jermain's also going to be a threat and that threat got them the win today when Scotty Dann just miscalculated."

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